Take Home Message: Male
collegiate athletes with certain types of achievement motivation have an
increased risk of high alcohol consumption. Female athletes with high goal
orientation consume more alcohol in the off-season compared with peers with
less goal orientation.

Heavy alcohol use is prevalent across college campuses, particularly among athletes.
Certain factors unique to sport may influence alcohol use among athletes; for
example, athletes out of their competitive season drink more frequently than during
a competitive season. Therefore, Weaver and colleagues examined the
relationship between different types of sport achievement motivation and
alcohol use and alcohol-related problems among intercollegiate athletes. The
study included 263 varsity athletes from three college campuses. The majority
of the participants were female (76%). The researchers utilized the Sport Orientation Questionnaire (SOQ),
which assessed sport-related achievement motivation on three subscales:
competitiveness, win orientation, and goal orientation. Alcohol consumption was
determined by the Daily Drinking Questionnaire (DDQ)
and problems associated with alcohol were determined by the Brief Young Adult Alcohol Consequences Questionnaire (BYAACQ). The authors separated the results by gender and
seasonal status. Men with higher levels of goal orientation and competitiveness consumed
greater amounts of alcohol, especially in-season. However, among female
athletes competitiveness was not related to alcohol consumption but women with more
goal orientation consumed greater amounts of alcohol during the off-season. Men with higher win orientation scores tended
to consume greater amounts of alcohol during the off-season but less alcohol during
in-season. Among female athletes, higher win orientation was associated with
less alcohol use, particularly during the in-season.

There
are many implications for this research. Male and female collegiate athletes
seem to have different mindsets when it comes to alcohol consumption. Males
typically consumed more alcohol during the off-season than in-season but males
with high competitiveness and high goal orientation drink more during the in-season
than their peers with less competitiveness and goal orientation. Men with
greater win orientation, however, tended to consume more in the off-season then
their peers with lower win orientation. For
women, the authors concluded that women might see alcohol use in-season as a
deterrent to athletic success; however, female athletes with more goal
orientation consume more alcohol in the off-season than females with lower goal
orientation. It is evident that men overall seem to consume more alcohol in-season
when compared to women. All three subsets of sports achievement motivation
increased the likelihood of males consuming alcohol and only women with high
goal orientation increased alcohol consumption in the off-season. Do men have
the mindset of “work hard, play hard” when women don’t have this mindset? Maybe
just men in general drink more at college especially in large groups and
athletic teams provide an avenue for group drinking. Previous studies have
found that alcohol negatively affects athletic performance including increased
dehydration, impeded muscle recovery, and increased risk for injury. This is
concerning for men with greater goal orientation and competitiveness since
drinking more may be impeding their performance and health. Understanding the
drinking habits of collegiate athletes may allow support staff to incorporate
alcohol awareness educational programs (both for the detriments to physical
endeavors as well as overall health). This study provides insight to when and
why athletes consume alcohol. This information could be useful for providing in-
and off-season educational programs for alcohol awareness. In these programs,
we could explain how drinking may impede their competition on the field or how
athletes can find other avenues for competition in the off-season instead of
alcohol consumption. Also, as a
clinician, we should take extra precautions for hydration if we can conclude
that alcohol consumption will be present with student athletes.

Questions for
Discussion: As a healthcare professional, how often have you seen athletes physically
suffer from dehydration that may be attributed to alcohol consumption? As a
clinician what are some preventative measure we can take to educate our
patients on negative effects of alcohol consumption?

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